The Hidden Costs of Spreadsheets in Physician Contract Management

Many healthcare organizations still rely on Excel spreadsheets or shared drives to track physician contracts. Manual spreadsheets might feel familiar and easy, but when it comes to complex healthcare agreements, especially those involving Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), HIPAA requirements and reimbursement models, they can create challenges that add up quickly.

1. Compliance risk skyrockets with manual tracking

Spreadsheets weren’t built for regulatory complexity—leaving room for mistakes.

Did you know?

• About 60% of healthcare compliance issues investigated by the OIG involve gaps in contract oversight.
• In 2023, Stark Law and AKS settlements added up to nearly $2B, many tied to improper physician agreements and inadequate documentation.
• A study by the Health Care Compliance Association found that 42% of compliance officers cite contract tracking as one of their highest risk areas due to outdated tools like spreadsheets.

Even something as simple as a missed renewal date or a forgotten compensation adjustment can cause compliance headaches.

2. Financial leakage and revenue loss

Manual tracking doesn’t just slow things down, it can cost money.

Did you know?

• According to Black Book Research, U.S. hospitals lose an estimated $157B every year due to poor contract management.
• Healthcare organizations report losing 10–15% of contract value because of missed renewals or overlooked clauses.
• PwC estimates that hospitals operating with outdated systems experience 18% higher administrative costs compared to those using automated contract lifecycle management (CLM).

When hospital margins are already tight (around 1–3% on average), even small leakages from missed terms or overpayments make a big difference.

3. Operational bottlenecks and staff burnout

Spreadsheets don’t have the ability to scale as physician networks grow.

Did you know?

• The average health system manages 1,200–1,500 active physician contracts.
• Research from EY shows that; legal and compliance teams spend up to 40% of their time searching and updating spreadsheets.
• Nearly 72% of healthcare executives surveyed by Kaufman Hall cited “manual administrative burden” as a top barrier to organizational efficiency.

That extra work and administrative burden lead to slower onboarding, delayed renewals and frustrated physicians, all of which can harm recruitment and retention.

4. Data integrity and security risks

Unlike a purpose-built healthcare CLM platform, spreadsheets weren’t designed with healthcare’s security needs in mind.

Did you know?

• A Ponemon Institute study found that 1 in 3 healthcare breaches stem from mishandled spreadsheets.
• Different departments often keep different versions of the same spreadsheet, creating confusion.
• Without built-in guardrails, organizations risk using outdated clauses, incorrect Stark-compliant compensation models or missing regulatory updates altogether.
  
  

Moving beyond spreadsheets

Healthcare is one of the most regulated industries in the world—and one of the least forgiving when it comes to documentation failures. However, too many organizations are still relying on tools that weren’t designed for the complexity of physician agreements. That’s why it’s worth looking at tools that are built for the complexity of physician agreements.

With a purpose-built healthcare CLM solution, organizations can:

• Keep all agreements in one central hub
• Automate compliance guardrails for Stark, AKS and HIPAA
• Minimize revenue loss from missed renewals
• Streamline onboarding, renewals, and physician relationships

Spreadsheets are handy, but they’re not designed for the ever-evolving regulatory uncertainty and financial pressures of the healthcare industry. With the comfort and familiarity of spreadsheets comes risk, inefficiency and expense. Therefore, it’s not a question of “Can my organization afford a CLM?” it’s “Can my organization afford another year of spreadsheet repercussions?”